Betting-products matched bargain method and system

ABSTRACT

A betting exchange method is provided that comprises receiving offers from at least one user and using proportional calculation to determine whether the offers satisfy transaction criteria among themselves; each of said offers comprises a buyer who request (buys) a bet of an outcome or a seller who provides (sells) a bet of an outcome. The invention also provided a bet trading system comprising a receiver to receive offers from at least one user, each of said offers comprises a buyer who requests (buys) a bet of an outcome or a seller who provides (sells) a bet of an outcome; and a decision-maker uses proportional calculation to determine whether the offers satisfy transaction criteria among themselves.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention is related to the field of proportional bets matching,particularly but not exclusively to secondary fixed odds bettingexchange.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A number of companies provide fixed odds betting services, where playerscan only access to one side of the market, i.e. they can onlyefficiently request, or “buy”, a particular outcome, for example whowill win in a horse race or in a football game, to occur at odds offeredby a bookmaker. The offers may change in time, but those who accept theoffer place bets with the bookmaker and, if the outcome desired by theplayer finally occurs, the bookmaker needs to pay out. In such ascenario, the bookmaker acts as a contract provider with plurality ofindividual request players, each betting transaction is betweenbookmaker and player. Though the odds offered by the bookmaker may varyin time depending on the demand of bets, the outcome is still unknown.After the transaction is completed, the players can only wait until thefinal outcome occurs to realize the bets.

A number of companies provide internet back and lays services, which lettwo players bet on counter outcomes, any unit of backing bets is matchedwith respective to laying bets. Despite of the floating of the odds, itis not easy to write off the bets, whether backing or laying, directlyby betting in the counter side. For example, a player cannot write offan existing bet which has backed at odds 2 to 1, with a laying bet atthe market odds 3 to 1 totally, there is still some risk exposure.

Also, back and lays services always create new bets for trade, and theycannot handle the exchange of bets that already exist. Instead ofselling out the existing bets, players can only write off the existingbets by creating new bets, they cannot sell the existing bets withoutcreate new bets. This inconvenience lets players difficult to managetheir account.

Nowadays the flexibility of bets exchange provided by exchange marketsystem is limited. The existing exchange market system cannot supportany exchange of bets which are not selected by exchange market system,such as bets with special conditions. This will limit the growth of themarket.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, a betting exchange method isprovided that comprises receiving offers from at least one user andusing proportional calculation to determine whether the offers satisfytransaction criteria among themselves; each of said offers comprises abuyer who request (buys) a bet of an outcome or a seller who provides(sells) a bet of an outcome. The invention also provided a bet tradingsystem comprising a receiver to receive offers from at least one user,each of said offers comprises a buyer who requests (buys) a bet of anoutcome or a seller who provides (sells) a bet of an outcome; and adecision-maker uses proportional calculation to determine whether theoffers satisfy transaction criteria among themselves. The buyer requests(buy) a bet of an outcome from a primary or secondary market, the sellerprovides (sell) a bet of an outcome to a secondary market; and theproportional calculation comprises matching a portion, one or plural ofbet-demand with a portion, one or plural of bet-supply. In addition, itcan ensure the market is most efficient and having competitive prices.The bet requests and provide can include a price and odds at which thebet is to be placed, which can promote price or odds competition andimprove the efficiency of the market. If a better price or odds isavailable to the user, the system will match the bet at the better priceor better odds. The system can represent the players to request betsfrom external bookmarker(s).

The system can further comprise means for automatically generating animplied bet in respect of an outcome for the absence of one-side bets(buy or sell). This can generate arbitrage opportunities and also allowbets to be filled automatically by the system even though there may bemore explicit odds in one side of the market than the other. Thisfunction can improve the liquidity of the market.

The present invention has the notable improvement that a user-friendlyand convenience system and method which allow the sell of existing betswithout creating a new bets and use proportional calculation matching toimprove the liquidity of the market.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To provide a more complete understanding of the present invention andfeatures and advantages thereof, reference is made to the followingdescription, taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures, whereinlike reference numerals represent like parts, in which:

FIG. 1 is a simplified flowing chart of a secondary bet trading marketplatform; and

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of a secondary bet trading marketplatform.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 2, the system includes a server to support theexchange market. The bet trading system is implemented in software andusers are permitted to request or provide a bet of an outcome, thematching means match respective bets in proportion by the basis of odds.The operation of the bet trading system is explained in detail below fordifferent types.

Referring to FIG. 1, a flow diagram shows the steps required for thebetting service provided by the betting system. A player wishes to usethe betting exchange service provided by the bet trading system accessesthe system with his usual Internet access mechanism, telephone accessmechanism, or any other channel access the system. If the player isvalidated, then the offers are permitted.

Only permitted users offer the trading system, subject to ensuring thatthere is sufficient credit or bets in their accounts. Guests access tothe system are given “read only” authority to the system's statisticsand data report. This allows them to follow the market informationclosely. In addition, they can access to a real time exchange marketthat demonstrates how the trading system works.

An account is opened for each player. Money or bets can be depositedinto the account before taking place in exchange. Once the account hasbeen opened, the player can login with their ID and password.

In certain embodiments of the present invention, the trading system is atrading platform that facilitates the purchase and sale of one or morebetting instruments. Trading platform is operable to receive and toprocess requests associated with transactions related to bettinginstrument. A trading platform may be a computer, a server, a managementcenter, a single workstation, or a headquartering office for any person,business, or entity that seeks to manage the trading of bettinginstrument. Accordingly, the trading platform may include any suitablehardware, software, personnel, devices, components, elements, or objectsthat may be utilized or implemented to achieve the operations andfunctions of an administrative body or a supervising entity that managesor administers a trading environment.

The trading platform may be owned and operated by any suitable entityhaving the authority to operate in the distribution of bettinginstrument. For example, the trading platform may be a recognized bettrading system. A connection may be presented between the tradingplatform and any other bets exchange system (e.g. betfair, betdaq,William hills), whereby information associated with any transaction thatis proposed by a buyer or a seller is relayed to an appropriate exchangeto consummate the transaction. Thus, the trading platform may operate asa proxy between a buyer/seller and a corresponding exchange that canrecord and confirm a tendered purchase or sale of betting instruments.Alternatively and where authorized, the trading platform may performsuch trade execution functions independently. The trading platform mayalso deliver real-time odds data to buyer or seller in order to providepertinent bet information to be used to make decisions as to whether topurchase or to sell betting instruments. This relay of bet informationmay be performed via price/odds reporting/dissemination element or anyother suitable elements. Data, such as pricing information, oddsinformation, outcome, terms, maturity data, historical quotes, or movingaverages, for example, may be provided to buyers and sellers. Other betdata may also be readily delivered and based on particular needs. Inorder to deliver information that is accurate and timely, pricereporting/dissemination elements may be coupled to a corresponding betexchange communications link that carries such bet data. Alternatively,reporting/dissemination element may gather such critical informationfrom any appropriate location (e.g. a server operable to deliverreal-time information to investors) such that the desired bet data isdelivered to buyers or sellers.

Communications network is a communicative platform operable to exchangedata or information between buyers/sellers and the trading platform. Thecommunications network represents an internet architecture in aparticular embodiment of the present invention, which provides buyers orsellers with the ability to execute trades or to initiate transactionsto be delivered to an authorized exchange trading platform.Alternatively, the communications network could be a plain old telephonesystem (POTS), which buyers or sellers could use to perform the similaroperations or functions. Such transactions may be assisted by a brokerassociated with trading platform or manually keyed into a telephone orother suitable equipments in order to request a transaction to beexecuted. In other embodiments, communications system could be anypacket data network (PDN) offering a communications interface orexchange between any two nodes in betting system. The communicationsnetwork may alternatively be any local area network (LAN), metropolitanarea network (MAN), wide area network (WAN), wireless local area network(WLAN), wireless local area network (WLAN), mobile network, satellitenetwork, virtual private network (VPN), intranet, or any otherappropriate architecture or system that facilitates communications in anetwork or telephonic environment.

Buyers and sellers are clients, customers, prospective players, orentities wish to access or to initiate a communication with the tradingplatform delivered via communications network. Alternatively, buyer andseller may represent any device or object that seeks to initiate acommunication on behalf of another entity or element, such as a program,a database, or any other component, device, element, or object capableof initiating a voice or a data exchange within investment system. Data,as used herein in this document, refer to any type of numeric, voice, orscript data, or any other suitable information in any appropriate formatthat may be communicated from one point to another. In an exampleembodiment, buyers and sellers are investors who are interested inpurchasing or shorting betting instruments. Buyers and sellers may alsosimply seek to review performance characteristics of betting instrumentsor to ascertain specific details related to the outcome containedtherein.

Each of buyer and seller may be provided with an end user interfacewhich comprises a central processing unit (CPU). The end user interfacemay be employed by either a buyer or a seller in order to initiatetransactions or to perform bet-monitoring functions within investmentsystem. Alternatively, such an end user interface may be replaced withany other suitable interface or object that facilitates communicationsbetween buyer, seller, and any other element within investment system,such as: a cellular telephone, an electronic notebook, a personaldigital assistant (PDA), or any other suitable device (wireless orotherwise), component, or element capable of accessing one or moreelements within investment system. The end user interface may alsocomprise any suitable interface for a human user such as a display, amicrophone, a keyboard, or any other appropriate terminal equipmentaccording to particular configurations and arrangements. In addition,the end user interface may be a unique element designed specifically forcommunications involving the purchase or the sale of futures contract.Such an element may be fabricated or produced specifically for betapplications involving buyers and sellers.

It should be noted that the internal structure of one embodiments of thetrading platform is malleable and can be readily changed, modified,rearranged, or reconfigured in order to achieve its intended operations.Accordingly, the trading platform may be equipped with any suitablecomponent, device, application specific integrated circuit (ASIC),hardware, software, processor, storage medium, algorithm, read onlymemory (ROM) element, random access memory (RAM) element, erasableprogrammable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM(EEPROM), or any other suitable object that is operable to facilitatethe operations of the trading platform. Considerable flexibility isprovided by the structure of the trading platform in the context of thetrading system. Thus, it can be easily appreciated that the tradingplatform could readily provide internal or external communications,involving buyers and sellers, which can be accommodated and handledproperly. In other embodiments, the trading platform could perform oneor more of the tasks provided by reporting/dissemination element suchthat accurate pricing/odds/exchange information and other relevant betdata could be adequately communicated to buyers and sellers.

A receiver may comprise a module in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention. The receiver may be an operable program orinstruction(s) in the trading platform to receive requests or sales frombuyer or seller and to process those requests/sales such that bettransactions involving betting instrument may be performed. The receivermay have a link or a connection to a bet exchange market trading placeor some other suitable elements that allows such transactions to beconsummated. The resultant betting instrument that is formulated may besuitably stored in memory elements after being properly managed andsecured by processors. The processor may also assist in processing anyterms or conditions (e.g. desired odds rate, type of outcome, etc.)requested by buyers or sellers. The receiver may contact the buyer orseller and notify either of the circumstances surrounding the inabilityto fulfill such an order.

In an alternative embodiment, a receiver may be replaced entirely orpartially with a person, providing a human interface to a correspondingbets trading platform. In such an embodiment, an agent of tradingplatform or any other suitable person or representative may be contactedby a buyer or a seller (e.g. via the telephone, a network, othersuitable electronic equipment, or directly by word of mouth). The agentor representative may receive a request from a buyer or a seller toexecute some transaction involving betting instrument. The agent orrepresentative may then proxy or broker the request to an appropriatebet trading platform for execution of the transaction. The agent orrepresentative may then record the transaction once it has beenconsummated and contact the buyer or the seller to confirm that thetransaction has been executed. A receipt may then be issued to the buyeror the seller indicating the terms of betting instruments.

A decision-maker may comprise a module in accordance with one exampleembodiment of the present invention. The decision-maker may be anoperable program or instruction(s) in the trading platform usingproportional calculation to determine whether the offers satisfytransaction criteria among themselves. The resultant betting instrumentthat is formulated may be suitably stored in memory element after orbefore being properly managed and secured by the processor. Theprocessor may also process matching calculation.

In an alternative embodiment, the decision-maker may be replacedentirely or partially with a person, providing a human interface to acorresponding bets trading exchange. In such an embodiment, thedecision-maker may uses proportional calculation to determine whetheroffers satisfy transaction criteria among themselves. The decision-makermay then record the transaction once it has been matched.

Clearing house is a module that cooperates with trading system in orderto ensure a fair and proper execution of transactions and tradesinitiated by buyer or seller. Bets exchanges generally have a clearingassociation (i.e. similar to a clearing house), which operates inconjunction with the bets exchange in a manner similar to a bankclearing house. The membership in the clearing association is generallycomposed of well-capitalized members of the exchange and corporations orpartnerships, one of whose officials is often an exchange member.Exchange members who do not join the clearing association can cleartheir trades through a member of the association. Each member ofclearing house allocates fixed original margins and maintains them withclearing house in the event of adverse price fluctuations. In suchinstances, a clearing house may call for additional margins throughoutthe day without waiting for a routine end-of-day settlement.

The system provides each player with detail information about his/hertrading activity. For example, a player cans easily view a list of allhis/her bets, his/her offers, his/her account and exchanged report whichare outstanding, including those have been filled and those which arepending. This list can be sorted by event, by size of bet, by odds, bymaturity date, by type of bet, etc. A player can also obtain a completereport of all bets requested or provided and the outcome of each betsettlement information. Furthermore, the player can analyze his/herbetting history in many ways, for example over any time period and forspecific event. All historical information can be sorted in many ways.

The trading system also produces a comprehensive statement of account.This will show details of all transactions relative to the player'saccount and will provide a full reconciliation showing how currentbalances have been achieved.

Players can receive customized information that system provides to meettheir own requirements. They can choose what kind of the bettinginformation they need, for example, receiving more than one marketinformation at one time or creating customized reports, and selectingthe priority of information receives.

For fixed odds betting market, the odds are floating from time to time.However, once the bets are purchased, the odds will be fixed until betsare settled. According to the invention, the bet trading system permitsplayers to provide bets as well as to request them. When requesting abet, the player bets that the outcome will occur and makes a profit whenit happens. If the outcome does not occur, then the player loses hisoriginal stake. Conversely, when supplying an outcome, the playerreceives stake money, and gives the counter side of the bets. No matteroutcome occurs or not, it is unrelated to the supplying player. Thesupplying player must have bets in his account during the time periodwhen he enters into the exchange process. In the same, the player whorequests the bets must have enough money or credit in his account thatguarantee the settlement can completed. The matching process iscritical, which need calculating the proportion of both sides toexchange to ensure both sides' requirements are satisfied. The operationof the system is illustrated by the example of a soccer match betweenLiverpool and Manchester Unit.

One embodiment of the invention is that there are three possibleoutcomes: Liverpool win, Manchester Unit win or the game ends in a draw.It is assumed that several requesting players request a bet whichLiverpool win with fixed odds 4 to 1, and at the same time, a supplyingplayer provide a bet, he bought before, which Liverpool win with fixedodds 12 to 1. By proportional calculation, three fixed odds 4 to 1 betsequal to one fixed odds 12 to 1 bet. In this case, the matching succeedand exchange occur, three of the requesting players give the supplyingplayer three unit of cash, and the supplying player gives the threerequesting players one fixed odds 12 to 1 bet. Because three fixed odds4 to 1 bets equal to one fixed odds 12 to 1 bet, each of receivingplayers receives one 4 to 1 bet.

For the above embodiment, if in case that the supplying player providebets with fixed odds 2 to 1, one fixed odds 4 to 1 bet equal to twofixed odds 2 to 1 bets. Exchange still occurs, each of the two supplyingplayers receives 0.5 unit of cash, and the requesting player receive onefixed odds 4 to 1 bet.

Similarly, another embodiment of previous situation, three playersprovide bets with fixed odds 2 to 1; market request bets with fixed odds3 to 1 two fixed odds 3 to 1 bets equal to three fixed odds 2 to 1 bets.Exchange occurs, each of the three supplying players receives 0.666 unitof cash and each of the two requesting players in the market receive onefixed odds 2 to 1 bet, it can totally write off and there is no riskexposure.

One embodiment of the invention, if a player provides a bet with fixedodds 5 to 1; market request only one bet with fixed odds 3 to 1, andseller adapts to sell at with fixed odds 3 to 1 fixed odds 3 to 1 betequals to 60% of fixed odds 5 to 1 bets. Exchange occurs, the sellerreceives one unit of cash and remains a bet with fixed odds 2 to 1 inhis account waiting for next matching, and the requesting player in themarket receives one fixed odds 3 to 1 bet.

An alternative embodiment of the invention, in case, if two playersprovide a bet with fixed odds 2 to 1 and 3 to 1 respectively; marketrequests bets with fixed odds 5 to 1 and both sellers adapt to sell atwith fixed odds 5 to 1 one bet with fixed odds 2 to 1 and one bet withfixed odds 3 to 1 equals to one fixed odds 5 to 1 bet. Exchange occurs,two supplying players receive 0.4 unit and 0.6 unit of cashrespectively, and the requesting player in the market receives one fixedodds 5 to 1 bet.

If any side has a more favourable odds or price to exchange, the morefavourable odds or price will be the exchange odds or price. All theproportional calculation uses the following equation:

Odds ratio=1/Quantity ration=Price ratio

The above equation is useful to standardize the bets, which can matchdifferent types of bets. Another embodiment, a seller has bought a betthat has standardize odds and quantity, such as bought fromTradesport.com at $10, award $100 if the outcome occurred for one unitof bets. Now if the player would like to sell the bets, market requestsbets with fixed odds 5 to 1 for $1 each, both sides base on differentstandards. Then the equation can be used to convert both to onestandard, price ratio of seller's bet to buyer's bet is 10 to 1, whichmust equal to 1/odds ratio. After calculation, the odds of seller's betis 10 to 1 which doubles the buyer's bet, so one seller's bet can bedivided into twenty buyer's bet, exchange occurs, the seller gets $20and each of the twenty buyers order gets odds with 5 to 1.

Calculated proportional ratio is generally unlikely a round number, andis marked up or down to the nearest acceptable number in the oddsstructure of the system that will be adapted by both sides.

As soon as the bets enter into the system and be confirmed, all playerslooking at the information provided by the system of the Liverpool vs.Manchester Unit game will see that their information updates immediatelyto show the new price, new odds and size quotations, reflecting thelatest bets.

Diversifying bets ensures the trading to occur, and the diversified betscan be combined to be the original outcome.

Just like the financial exchange market, the betting exchange marketuses bargaining together method or continuous bargain method formatching. Same as security market, betting exchange market permitsstop-loss order and limit order. The bets are available in the exchangeplatform, not only sporting bets, but also sporting derivatives, betderivatives and others instruments with odds.

Players are not allowed to place bets unless they have sufficient fundsor bets in their account to cover any outcome on the bet. Whenrequesting a bet, the maximum amount a player can lose is equal to thestake, the theoretical maximum profit is infinite (the odds of betrequesting is infinite low in secondary market), but it is the idealcase. For a rational secondary market (this invention's exchangemarket), return is between the negative stake and odds X stake. It isdifferent from the conventional market, whereas conventional bets marketreturn is either negative stake or odds X stake.

The bet trading system keeps continuous track of every player's creditexposure. Since the bet trading system does not know whether or not thepending bets placed by the player will be filled, exposure calculationsare performed by looking at all possible outcomes and assuming the worstfor each time, bearing in mind any interdependencies that may existbetween bets.

If the bet request is accepted, the system assigns a unique referencenumber to it. Players are informed of these numbers. In addition, thesystem assigns a unique reference to every portion of the bet requestthat is filled and keeps a record of the corresponding reference for theportion of the bet with which it is matched. These references exist toprovide an audit trail.

If the player wishes to cancel the order amount in response to thesystem, the system checks to see whether this amount has already beenwholly or partially exchanged. If the amount has already been wholly orpartially exchanged, the system cancels as much of the order amount aspossible and confirms the result to the player. If the order amount hasnot been exchanged, the entire cancellation is confirmed to player.

Another feature of the invention is that the system will act when anagency requests bets from different bookmarkers if those bookmarkershave better odds or price, or when there is no such bets that the playerrequests in the betting exchange market. It is also an important sourceof bets that can be exchanged in the betting exchange market. Playerscan buy bets from different bookmakers, such as Gala Coral Group, HongKong Jockey Club, Ladbrokes, William Hill, etc, and save them in theirown accounts. Players can provide (sell) these bets whenever they wantor wait for settlement.

A further feature of the invention is that the system will automaticallyexchange a player's bet to his best advantage. For embodiment, if theplayer is simply entered that he wants to have a bet Liverpool to win atan odds of 2 to 1 and the bet is still available at an odds of 3 to 1,then the system will automatically allocate the first of the player'sbet to the odds 3 to 1 and the remaining bets at the odds 2 to 1. Thisensures that the player always gets the best value available on thesystem. The same is true if the player sells a bets.

Even though one side of the market has not been taken up, it will stillbe possible to exchange bets on the other side of the market. The bettrading system performs a market maker function by automaticallysupplying or requesting bets in such a way that the system operator doesnot lose money. Arbitrage opportunities arise where a collection of betsof a similar type (i.e. to request a bet or to provide a bet), all onthe same event, can be automatically filled by the exchange in the sureknowledge that the system operator will not lose money in all outcome ofthe event.

The market maker calculates the sizes which will be exchange by thearbitrage, by taking the minimum payout (price size) over allselections, and then calculates the size for each selection whichresults in that payout. The arbitrage price is generally unlikely around number, and is marked up or down to the nearest acceptable numberin the price structure of the system that will not cause the system tolose money.

Once an event has finished or the exchange has finished, the bet tradingsystem will settle all bets. If a player has won on a bet, the winningsare transferred to the player's account on the system, less thecommission that the system operator charges. If a player has lost, thenthe losing amount is deducted from the player's account on the system.If a player has sold the bets, bets are deducted from the player'saccount and money is transferred to the player's account. If player hasbought the bets, money is deducted from the player's account but betsare transferred to the player's account. At the end of each day, allaccounts will be reconciled to ensure that it is only possible for anyerror to exist in the system for a maximum of one day.

While the above invention has been described primarily in relation tobetting exchange market, any form of bets exchange which providessimilar functionality is suitable to implement the invention.

1. A method of operating a bet trading platform which comprisesreceiving offers from at least one user and using proportionalcalculation to determine whether the offers satisfy transaction criteriaamong themselves; each of said offers comprises a buyer who request(buys) a bet of an outcome or a seller who provides (sells) a bet of anoutcome.
 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein said proportionalcalculation comprises odds parameter.
 3. A method according to claim 1,wherein said proportional calculation further comprises converting thebets by using the odds, quantities or prices as the standard to match.4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the buyer requests (buy) a betof an outcome from a primary or secondary market, the seller provides(sell) a bet of an outcome to a secondary market; and the proportionalcalculation comprises matching a portion, one or plural of bet-demandwith a portion, one or plural of bet-supply.
 5. A method according toclaim 1, wherein said bet further comprises betting derivatives.
 6. Amethod according to claim 1, wherein said calculation comprisesbargaining together method or continuous bargain method.
 7. A methodaccording to claim 1, wherein said sellers further comprise externalbookmarkers.
 8. A method according to claim 1, wherein said offerscomprise stop-loss orders or limit orders.
 9. A method according toclaim 1, further comprises generating an implied bet in respect of anoutcome for the absence of one-side bets (buy or sell).
 10. A methodaccording to claim 1, comprises embedding a better price or odds in abet request or a bet supply if the better price or odds is available andmatching the requested or provided bet at the better price of odds. 11.A method according to claim 1, further comprises representing said buyerto request bets from bookmarker(s).
 12. A bet trading platform systemcomprises: a receiver to receive offers from at least one user, each ofsaid offers comprises a buyer who requests (buys) a bet of an outcome ora seller who provides (sells) a bet of an outcome; and a decision-makeruses proportional calculation to determine whether the offers satisfytransaction criteria among themselves.
 13. A system according to claim12, wherein proportional calculation comprises odds parameter.
 14. Asystem according to claim 12, further comprises a storage medium forstoring information.
 15. A system according to claim 12, furthercomprises one or more interface(s) adapted for input or output betweensaid user(s) associated with the system.
 16. A system according to claim12, further comprises a communication module for communication.
 17. Asystem according to claim 12, further comprises a clearing house for thebet exchange settlement.
 18. A machine-readable medium for storinginstructions that cause the medium to comprise receiving offers from atleast one user, each of said offers comprises a buyer who requests(buys) a bet of an outcome or a seller who provides (sells) a bet of anoutcome; and using proportional calculation to determine whether theoffers satisfy transaction criteria among themselves.
 19. Amachine-readable medium according to claim 18, wherein proportionalcalculation comprises odds parameter.
 20. A machine-readable mediumaccording to claim 18, further comprises means for generating an impliedbet in respect of an outcome for the absence of one-side bets (buy orsell).
 21. A machine-readable medium according to claim 18, wherein eachof the bet requests or the bet supplies comprises at least one of price,odds or quantity parameters.
 22. A machine-readable medium according toclaim 18, wherein the machine further comprises representing said usersto request bets from external bookmarker(s).